EDMONTON — In Hinton, Alta., an industrial town in the shadows of the Rockies, residents left without a doctor to write prescriptions face a three-hour drive to Edmonton to try their luck at a walk-in clinic. Hinton is down to eight family physicians, half of what's needed for the town of 10,000.
And of those remaining, some are working part time or making retirement plans. The town council has formally declared it a health crisis and is looking at dipping into its own pockets to find $500,000 to keep the physicians from closing up shop. Mayor Nicholas Nissen said he's disappointed the town may be on the hook for something that's not a municipal responsibility.
"It’s absolutely ridiculous that municipal taxpayers are paying three times now — in our community — for health care that half of them don’t even have access to," Nissen said in an interview. Declaring the crisis doesn't bring access to emergency funding or extra resources. But Nissen said it sends a message about the gravity of the problem.
Even though health care falls under provincial authority, Nissen said rural or remote communities have long been taking matters into their own hands to maintain access, and Hinton's challenges are common across the country. "This story is not about Hinton," said Nissen. "We're not the only community in this boat.
" The $500,000 from the town would keep the lights on at the local medical clinic to help family physicians who can’t bill at the clinic because they’re too b.